Dauntless Initiation
by creative-musings
Summary: Tris is Dauntless-born, and this is her initiation process. Fourtris, yes. Rated T? Of course. DISCLAIMER: it would be so unfathomably pathetic if Veronica Roth wrote fanfiction for her own story.


**Hello, lovely readers! This idea just came to me...so I had to write it down. It's shaping upretty well, so why not publish it? I hope you guys like it!**

Twice a year, we are inspected. It is not necessarily the most pleasant thing to undergo, but I understand why it must take place. We cannot have weak, delicate people ruling Dauntless. The words "weak", "delicate", and "Dauntless" just don't belong in the same sentence. It's like comparing – well, it's like comparing the Dauntless and the Amity.

My mother sometimes talks about the way inspection used to be. It was intended to be an assurance that all Dauntless are in good condition – in other words, that they "look the part." If the inspected member wasn't in their proper condition, they weren't savagely punished – they just had to be in better shape next time. It was nothing but a recommendation.

A recommendation. Choice. Those words mean nothing to the new Dauntless leaders, my mother always says. Her tumultuous views could potentially get her in trouble, because speaking against the leaders is not the smartest thing to do. She consistently insists that Dauntless has become corrupt just in her lifetime. That their views are warped, twisted, fit for the most vicious coward. I agree, and so does my father. Unfortunately, my brother, Caleb, does not. He thinks that Dauntless has been a successful faction for a reason. In fact, only the other day, he told me that he's embarrassed that Mom and Dad are against the government.

I find it hard to believe that my brother will stay in Dauntless. I also find it hard to admit to myself that I do not want him here. He is not one of us. If someone was to tell him that he could never go outside again, his vision isn't perfect and he has to wear glasses, and the only thing he could do was read, he wouldn't see the problem. My brother is Erudite through and through. Maybe, he's Abnegation. I have no idea. All I know about him is that he isn't Dauntless.

I am Dauntless. I will pick Dauntless on the day of the Choosing Ceremony no matter what, because this is where I belong.

*page break*

"Tris, we're going to play paintball! You want to come?" I hear Uriah shout from the outside of my apartment's window. Marlene is next to him, and shes wearing a mischievous smirk. I don't know what that means...yet. I see my mother in the kitchen reading an article about a new simulation the Erudite has developed.

"Mom, can I?"

"Sure! Just get home in time for dinner, all right?"

I briskly nod and head out. My combat boots are unlaced and my hair needs to be thrown up into its usual ponytail, but I can be beholden by human eyes without scaring anybody.

"Tris, I think your eyeliner is smudged," Marlene points out.

"It is not!" I tend to defend myself a little too often.

"Uriah, isn't her eyeliner smudged?" she asks, convinced.

"Yeah, it is..." he says. He looks suspiciously intrigued by the black line above my eyelid. I don't want him to be right, however, and it is going to bother me if I don't know. I check in a mirror in a store window that is nearby. I can barely see, but it works.

I check both of my eyelids and squint, trying to see as best as I can. Suddenly, I feel something hit my back. It hurts a little, but it's nothing unbearable, of course.

"What was that?" Mock outrage can be a lot of fun.

"This!" Marlene holds up a gun that is loaded with little plastic pellets. I should have known.

I roll my eyes at her. "Genius," I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

She grins and looks at Uriah. He's holding back laughter.

"Uriah," I say, "you're allowed to laugh. It looks like you're about to die or something."

"I'm sorry-" he begins laughing. "It's just - you -eyeliner - like I care?! - glass -idiot -" I can only make out a few words in between his fits of laughter, but I get the main idea.

"Now that the prank's over," Marlene begins, "we should get Lynn."

"You know, Mar, I don't really feel like paintball anymore."

"You got me in crap clothes for nothing!" she says.

"Sorr-ee." Uriah holds up his hands in mock surrender. "Why don't we ask Zeke to go zip lining?"

"I thought they were waiting for initiation..?" Marlene's voice trails off at the end.

"Zip lining?!" My eyes get wide and adrenaline surges through my veins. I have to go.

"It was supposed to be a surprise...but I heard Zeke talking about it to Shauna. Maybe we can persuade him to let us go early." Uriah's voice is hopeful, but doubtful at the same time.

"Let's go, then!" Marlene says. We begin walking.

I can't imagine life without them.


End file.
